A Few More Words about Beowulf

In September of 1815, Grundtvig published his second article about Beowulf,“Nok et Par Ord om Bjovulfs Drape” [A Few More Words about the HeroicPoem of Beowulf] in Nyeste Skilderie af Kjøbenhavn [The Latest Scenes ofCopenhagen].iThe article was intended to end once and for all the literary feudthat had developed between him, Grímur Jónson Thorkelin, who had publishedthe first modern edition of Beowulf, and Peter Erasmus Müller, who had anonymously reviewed the edition.iiThe article is notable for two main reasons: first, itreveals Grundtvig far ahead of his contemporaries as a scholar of the poem and,second, it displays in full Grundtvig’s aggressive tone when in the heat of debate.